Star Contol: Origins is both the fourth game in the Star Control franchise and a reboot of it. It takes place in a different universe from previous Star Control games in order to provide a fresh story timeline to work with. It is being developed by Stardock Entertainment for the PC Windows platform, with editions for XBox One and Playstation 4 and Switch expected to be released later. The game is currently in development. A public Beta of its combat mode, "Fleet Battles", is currently in beta with the final release of the full game in summer 2018.

Concept

Star Control: Origins is a space role-playing game which puts the player in command of Earth's prototype interstellar ship. The game features both hyperspace and solar system travel, with a third person lander mode for resource collection and exploration of planetary bodies. Combat between aliens is handled via a top down 2D arcade-style combat system dubbed "Fleet Battles" in which each ship has a range of attack powers and abilities. Fleet Battles is available as an external mode as well, with the additional option of allowing the player to design their own ships.

Plot

Star Control: Origins takes place in the year 2088. Humanity is contacted by a species of aliens known as the Tywom, who claim they have been protecting us from a sinister evil empire known as the Scryve, who have domain over this region of the galaxy. As the player explores the immediate stars around earth they meet a wide cast of alien species, learn their histories, characteristics, and ongoing conflicts with their neighbors. The captain's mission is to prevent the Scryve from destroying the Earth through any means necessary.

Setting

Star Control: Origins takes place in an area of space known as "Orion's Spur". The player starts in a subset of this space known as the Scryve Sector which is approximately 120 by 120 light years containing hundreds of stars and thousands of worlds, each of which is unique.

Game Elements

You are the captain of Earth's first prototype, interstellar starship with a mission to save the world. Star Control doesn't give you instructions on how to do that other than that it must be accomplished at all costs. Thus, a great deal of the game is focused on how you accomplish your goals, and the Command Ship is versatile which allows for great flexibility in player strategy. Through various missions, exploration and interactions you can improve your ship, gain new officers, recruit allies and gain access to many powerful abilities.

When the captain visits an alien world, they can review the world by scanning it. Scanning the planet allows the Captain to send down crew to explore the surface to acquire resources, artifacts and make contact with inhabitants. There are over 70 different planet classes and thousands of unique planets which vary greatly, and some contain life while most do not.
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There are several hundred star systems in the Scryve sector of Orion's Spur. When a player enters a star system they are able to navigate to planets, other ships, starbases and other elements that one would expect to find in a star system. The many alien races can be found throughout the galaxy, but most aliens will be found in their home region.

The Faster-Than-Light (FTL) technology used by Star Control is called Hyperspace. In Hyperspace, the captain can travel to other star systems or intercept other ships traveling through hyperspace. The only known permanent structures within hyperspace are the mysterious Precursor Starbases. Players can upgrade their Hyperspace Drive to allow for more rapid movement throughout the galaxy, and are able to use autopilot for automated travel or jump between the Hypergate network found within the Precursor Starbases.

Encounters with hostile aliens ins inevitable, and can only be resolved in real-time combat referred to as Fleet Battles. Fleet Battles take place as a series of one-versus-one fights in a small arena, each time a ship is destroyed, the loser has to pick another ship and the battle continues until either the player or the AI runs out of ships. The player assembles a fleet throughout the campaign by recruiting human and alien ships, while the hostile alien fleets are predetermined. Fleet Battles can also be played as a separate stand-alone game including multiplayer.

The captain is the only human traveling outside the home solar system, so every every contact is alien. The alignments and motivations of each race of aliens will vary, so the captain needs to careful with first contact and diplomatic contact with aliens.